Can Libya Really Double Its Oil Output?

Before the removal of its long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, Libya had easily been able to produce around 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) of mostly high-quality light, sweet crude oil. Production had been on a rising production trend at that point, up from about 1.4 million bpd in 2000, and the country still had around 48 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves – the largest in Africa. Although this output level was well below the peak levels of more than 3 million bpd achieved in the late 1960s, the National Oil Corporation…